hmmm...did I tell you?!

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Have I told you all yet that baby Belle (well she's not a baby anymore) has basically been sick since...like...Christmas! I mean seriously! Her fever started December 28th so right after Christmas. I gave it a couple days because I figured it was viral. When it started to spike to 104 I decided enough is enough. By then of course it is New Years Day and the only urgent care open is like an hour away (granted we live in the middle of nowhere, haha). I didn't want to go to an ER because again it was New Years Day and I figured all the crazies/sickies would be there. So I drove the hour to the Urgent care (which does happen to be my favorite out of all the other urgent cares Northwest Medical center urgent car on Ina/Shannon, if your local).

A rare happy Bellie moment for us these past couple months.

The verdict?! She had an ear infection. Only her second ear infection ever (she's almost 3). Which I thought was pretty impressive. I mean Hailey had ear infections like every month when she was a tiny tot. Well...it gets better! I told the doctor that amoxicillin did not work last time and asked if we could just jump straight to augment-en (which is a step up in antibiotic world, just a bit stronger). She said no, to try this and if it didn't work in a couple days to go see my pediatrician.

Well guess what! It didn't work....

So I went to the pediatrician who stepped up her antibiotic. After a couple days I decided it should be working by now (and it didn't seem like it was) and took her back. Yep still has an ear infection. We went back and forth like this until I dunno the beginning of February! Yes FEBRUARY! She had an ear infection for over a month! We tried ALL oral antibiotics and were getting ready to do injected antibiotics. Which did NOT sound like a good time! 3 consecutive days of not only driving to the doctors (a 45 min drive) but then having to make my sweet baby cry because of a shot. Not to mention I'm sure the amount of bowel issues it would cause!

Seriously broke my heart. Literally. She lost any sense of balance a toddler could have. Which meant constantly running into walls and tripping over thin air. She was no longer sleeping, eating, or drinking much of anything. She literally was a shell of herself. She ended up loosing 2 whole pounds. Which is about 10% of her body weight. Not good! Not good at all!

Finally we gave her the augmenten which knocked that stinkin ear infection out! After our 10 days it was gone! Letting me breathe a sigh of relief. February 9 she was declared healthy!

So what happens?!

This Monday she starts sniffling...

Tuesday she starts coughing...

Last night she started with a fever and "barking" like a seal. I'm sure you've heard seals bark. right?! I KNOW what this bark means. It means one thing and one thing only...

CROUP!

She also said her ear hurt. But the cough was icky. I was more concerned about that.

My poor sweet baby cannot catch a break. Luckily for her croup is treatable. A couple days of steroids and she should be good as new.

So what have I learned in this almost 2 month journey?

1. If you are on antibiotics you need to take an acidophulis supplement. Acidophulis is a culture found in yogurt, and promotes digestive health. It also helps combat the side effects of antibiotics. The icky side effects. Ok I'm just going to say it the diarrhea. The pooie that burns your babies bum and makes things just that much more miserable for them. My wonderful neighbor (who is a nurse and AH-mazing Momma of 3) let me in on the acidophulis secret. You can get it at any health food store. It is refrigerated and you can get it in tabs or powder. I got chewable tablets and Belle actually really liked them!

2. Be persistent with your doctor. And if you are at a practice with more than one doctor. Go to your designated doctor. I LOVE my doctor but I think by seeing the other doctors the ball was dropped somewhere along the line. I mean I didn't see one consistent doctor. So everyone was treating it as if it were the first time (or second). Not as if she'd been sick for an entire month. I think the other doctors were great but somewhere between seeing oh 5 different doctors the lines got crossed somewhere. In the end I opted for less convenient appointment times (like 8am, still do-able just not as convenient) in order to see OUR doctor. And if they aren't feeling better in 3 or 4 days CALL THEM! BUG THEM! Tell them EXACTLY what is going on.

3. This is not a time to be afraid of taking medication. I am a big believer in dont take it unless you absolutely have to. But babies do NOT deserve to be in any pain. Most of January we were alternating motrin and tylenol every 3 hours in order to avoid any temperature spike (because she is prone to febrile seizures as well, just another concern!). We also had some ear numbing drops which worked wonders! Ask your doctor for them, you can only get them with a script. But they dont ever go bad (I mean I suppose they expire eventually). But they are a good thing to have on hand. Especially because these things seem to pop up at the worst times. Some ear numbing drops and motrin can get you through a weekend until you can see your pediatrician. Trust me, I know!

4. Keep them hydrated and get calories in when you can. I think Belle lived off of jello, smoothies, juice, and milk for a month. When she did eat I packed the calories into her food. For breakfast I could occasionally get her to eat scrambled eggs. I scrambled the eggs with full fat sour cream, buttered the pan (with real butter), and lots of cheese. Even if this was the only meal she took in for the day at least she got SOME calories. Give them whatever you can to eat, this is no time to be fussy about finishing a meal to get a snack. We also added ovaltine to her milk. Which was only given 2 hours before or after her antibiotic was taken or needed to be taken. To avoid and upset tummy.

I hope and pray that this never happens to your or your babies! I would not wish this on my worst enemy!

LOVE that sweet cheese-y face!

I'm off to finish steroids and start sleep training (sleeping through the night which has only happened twice since December 28th), food training (getting her to understand she doesn't get to eat whatever she wants anymore) and hopefully potty training (something I had planned on working on with her all of January after all she is almost 3)!